'Catsup Company Rep' Caught with 4 Million Tomato Seeds

It was announced, Tuesday, that an investigation into the attempted smuggling into Israel of four million tomato seeds will be transferred from the Tax Authority to the Agriculture Ministry's Plant Protection Service. Customs inspectors at Ben-Gurion International Airport discovered the seeds, worth about 250,000 shekels, in a 17-kilogram/37-pound bag brought in by a French tourist without an import license, which he did not declare. Initial questioning revealed the tourist to be the representative of a company that makes catsup.

Beyond the implications of the undeclared taxes, the Agriculture Ministry issued a statement of the dangers of smuggling agricultural products, chiefly the introduction of pests not currently known in Israel which could cause direct damage plants and animals, including humans, and thereby cause damage to agricultural products that Israel is trying to export.